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Airdate: The Zoo: Australia’s Biggest Baby

Later this month The Zoo returns for a special event featuring baby elephants.

Later this month The Zoo returns for a special event featuring baby elephants (and no Babars were injured in the making of this one).

Hosted by Melissa Doyle, the special takes us on an emotional journey from the days before the September birth of baby Ongard (pronounced Ong-aaht) at Melbourne Zoo through to the mother’s difficult and anxious three day labour. The incredible footage of Ongard’s birth is some of the best vision of an elephant birth ever filmed with mother Kulab delivering Ongard right in front of our cameras.

“It’s a baby boom! There is nothing cuter than the sight of a huge wobbly newborn elephant. And now Melbourne welcomes another one to the family,” Melissa Doyle said. “The footage we have captured of the birth of little Ongard is breathtaking – it will make you cry, cheer and marvel at Mother Nature.”

Ongard is the second elephant birth at Melbourne Zoo following his half sister Mali who was born in January. Ongard and Mali are the first two elephant births in the zoo’s 148 year history.

The Zoo: Australia’s Biggest Baby also features other recent elephant births at both Melbourne and Taronga Zoos including the first female baby elephant born in Sydney only last week. Sydney’s Taronga Zoo now has two male baby elephants and a newborn female baby elephant following a relaxed and easy birth in early November.

Featuring some of the most endearing and funny vision of baby elephants at play, it is a rare insight into their relationships, their methods of communication and their private world.

Melissa adds, “It really is incredible that we have seen so many healthy elephant calves born in Australia of late. Aside from the joy they bring, we can’t lose sight of how important Australia’s breeding program is.”

It airs 7:30pm Wednesday November 24th.

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